Mr. Nakamura was surprised by how talkative Tetsuya was when he showed up on his doorstep the next week with a basket of food from Mrs. Yuki.
"-and then Oda Nobunaga was killed! And-"
'Slow down, Tetsuya! Let's go talk inside."
Mr. Nakamura took out two bottles of juice from the refrigerator and he helped Tetsuya set up the table. He smiled when he noticed that Mrs. Yuki had packed enough food for two. Mr. Nakamura served a bowl of rice for Yuki and he ate, nodding attentively as Tetsuya continued spouting his knowledge of the Sengoku period.
"And then Emperor Meiji brought an end to the Sengoku period."
"My, that is very impressive, Tetsuya! Where did you learn all this?"
Tetsuya looked proud,
"I borrowed books from my school library and read all about the Sengoku period! I'm practically an expert!"
Mr. Nakamura laughed and he patted Tetsuya's shoulder before telling him to eat.
Something else in the room caught Tetsuya's eye.
"What's that over there, Mr. Nakamura?"
"Hm? Oh, that? It's just an old shogi board. I'm sure you wouldn't be interested in a boring game."
"Shogi? What's that?"
"It's a game of wits and strategy. It takes a lot of thinking and brain power to win a game."
"It sounds like a war."
"Haha! That's one way to think of it."
Tetsuya's eyes glowed. Shogi sounded very interesting.
"Could you teach me how to play, Mr. Nakamura?"
"Are you sure? Wouldn't a kid like you rather play with toys at home?"
Tetsuya thought about his toys at home and shrugged,
"Shogi sounds fun."
Mr. Nakamura arched his brow but he couldn't stop a smile from spreading on his lips.
"All right, I'll teach you shogi. First, let's finish eating and clean up before we start anything."